kiss me like the world is ending
by kathillards
Summary: "I would have kissed you." - Troy and Emma, navigating the threat of evil, a picnic in the park, and the uncertain sweetness of wanting to kiss someone standing right next to you in one conversation. - Megaforce - TroyEmma


**disclaimer:** i don't own power rangers

**notes: **man, i miss these kids. i've come to the realization that i ship emma with absolutely everyone on the team; this was originally gonna have more orion/emma undertones but i couldn't bring myself to make troy sad. also, i just really wanted him to admit he wanted to kiss emma so, enjoy!

takes places right after _united as one_.

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><p>The wind was still going strong an hour later, carrying Orion's kite up into the clouds as the rest of the team gathered below it, laughing and talking as the sun began to slowly sink over the horizon. The boys had cleared a space nearby for some light sparring, with Gia alternately cheering them on and helping Orion when his kite started to drift.<p>

Troy, who had fought and soundly defeated both Jake and Noah in two matches each, had decided to sit the next one out, letting them have a go at each other. They were both getting much better than they had been at the start, though he still had a few years of practice on them.

Grabbing a water bottle as he headed away from their match, he noticed Emma standing in the shade of a tree nearby, watching the five of them with a smile, her trusty camera somehow having materialized in her hands again to take pictures of them.

"Hey, where'd that come from?" he asked her, grinning, as he leaned against the trunk of the tree besides her. "Do you just magically pull that thing out when you want to take pictures?"

"Maybe," she laughed, letting the camera hang down around her neck after taking one last shot of Jake and Noah. "You're not sparring anymore?"

"Nah, they got annoyed that I kept beating them," Troy smirked, earning himself an eyeroll from Emma. "It's _true_," he insisted, laughing.

"I know," she said, pushing herself off the tree trunk and crossing her arms as she observed the rest of their team. "I was watching," she reminded him, tilting her head to shoot him a smile over her shoulder.

Troy lifted himself off as well to join her, his shoulder brushing hers. He had dropped his leather jacket for the sparring matches and because it was getting hotter and fresher as the day went on, but he was kind of regretting it now, because Emma's shoulder was bare from the lack of her usual denim jacket as well, and he would rather pretend he didn't have the kind of feelings he did for a little while longer.

"What'd you think?" he opted to asked instead, determinedly ignoring any tingles from where her skin touched his. She raised an eyebrow at him, and he shot her his best grin in response.

"Are you fishing for compliments?" she giggled, nudging him with her shoulder. "You were very good. But you knew that already."

He shrugged, smiling over at her. "I can always be better," he pointed out. "If we don't improve, we don't stand a chance against the Armada, right?"

Emma sighed. "You're right, but..." She trailed off, and he stared at her in question for a moment, waiting for the rest of her statement, until she lifted up her camera and snapped a picture of him. "You should also just enjoy the moment," she reminded him with a giggle when she lowered her camera to smile at him. "Tomorrow, we'll face the Armada again. Today, we get to relax with our friends."

Troy blinked rapidly; she had mercifully turned off the flash but it was still a bit disconcerting, then he smiled at her. "You're right," he said, tilting his head up towards the darkening sky. "You always are, y'know?"

"I know," she said cheerfully, biting her lip when he turned his smile back to her. Troy grinned and leaned closer.

"So, how – how was getting married?" he asked her, keeping his voice light, though he noticed Gia giving the two of them a questioning look for a moment. Resolutely ignoring her, he kept his attention focused on Emma, who seemed a little caught off-guard by the question.

"How was – oh, you mean – " She laughed a little, shaking her head. "It was nice. The monster got away that time, though."

"I know, but…" Troy hesitated, trying not to recall the way the idea of Emma and Orion getting married, even for pretend, had settled funnily in his stomach after they'd left, or the way Gia's teasing of Orion over his morpher had stuck in his mind long after his laughter faded. Truth was, the idea of Emma and Orion kissing hadn't sat well with him at all. "You know, getting dressed up as a bride, and all. And Orion. Was it fun?"

"Yeah," Emma said lightly, shrugging. "It was like playing dress-up. Except I had a blaster," she grinned, and he smiled back, though he got the distinct feeling she was diverting his attention. "Why? Did _you_ wanna get married?"

Her voice was teasing, but the question startled him, and he knew she could see his emotions flashing on his face. He took a quick breath to steady his voice and keep his tone neutral before answering, "No, I just – well, you – I – "

He had lost his train of thought somewhere in her smile. Before he could think better of it, the words, "Did you actually kiss him?" were falling out of his mouth.

Emma's eyes widened for a second. "I – Orion?" she asked, though he thought his question had been pretty obvious. "Did we – well, no," she admitted, shooting a glance that seemed almost wistful in Orion's direction. Troy felt his heart sink. "The monster came in before – and I don't think he really wanted to, either."

Troy's eyebrows shot up. "He didn't?" he asked in disbelief. He'd know Orion was uncomfortable about it, possibly due to being an alien and just not knowing how things like kissing worked on Earth, but…who wouldn't want to kiss Emma? "Why?"

Emma shifted her weight from foot to foot. "I don't know," she said, and Troy wanted to kick himself. Why would she want to talk about why a guy she might _like_ wouldn't want to kiss her? "It's not important, we got the job done, didn't we?"

"Right," Troy coughed. "But I would have."

He hadn't exactly planned to say that, but the words had left his lips before he could think twice about it. Emma's head shot up to stare at him, a look of surprise settling on her face. His mouth felt rather dry all of a sudden.

Before she could answer, though, Gia's voice at his side startles him into jumping and looking away from Emma. "You would have what?"

He froze. Emma looked uncertainly between him, Gia, and Orion, who was now holding the kite and standing next to Gia, who had somehow managed to sneak up on both of them. Jake and Noah were still in their sparring area, but Troy could see them slow to a stop out of the corner of his eye, both of them clearly interested in what was going on with the rest of the team.

"No_thing_," he said quickly, exchanging a glance with Emma. "Are you guys done flying?"

"I heard my name," said Orion curiously, looking at him and Emma in turn. "What were you guys talking about?"

Gia raised her eyebrows in a way that indicated she had a pretty good idea of what they'd been talking about. "Yeah, Troy," she said, her voice rising, a smile on her face, "what _were_ you guys talking about?"

"_Gia_," Emma said before Troy could figure out a way to get Gia off his back, "It was nothing. Come on, are you guys ready to eat now?"

Troy sent her a grateful look. She held up the picnic basket invitingly and the distraction worked; everyone abandoned their curiosity over Troy and Emma's conversation to dive into the food Emma had packed. Troy remained standing next to Emma as the other four settled on the ground, chatting away about the day as the sun lowered itself over the hills beyond Harwood County.

Emma touched his arm before he could move to join them, and he stilled under her touch. "What…what _did_ you mean?" she asked him quietly, keeping her voice out of earshot of the others as much as she could. Troy hesitated, finding himself face-to-face with her and unable to deny the way his stomach was doing somersaults when he looked at her.

"I just meant – " He had to struggle to find the right words, fighting a blush valiantly as it rose on his face. "I would have kissed you. If – if I'd been the one there, I mean."

The look in Emma's eyes was indecipherable as she stared at him, the weight of his confession building between them. After what seemed like forever, she took a breath. "Really?" she asked, the hint of a smile blooming in her voice.

Troy smiled helplessly back. "Really." And before he knew it, his body had moved as if to prove exactly that, one arm sliding around her waist and pulling her closer and the other hand brushing away her hair so he could lean down and kiss her. He wasn't sure where he'd found the bravery, but something about the look on her face when he'd told her he would have kissed her had spurred him forward.

She tasted warm and sweet, like honey mint and strawberries, and Troy thought he probably could have stayed like that forever. And he might have, if the rest of their team hadn't taken notice.

"I forgot about them," he murmured sheepishly against Emma's smile when they had to break apart for air to the noise of the others' laughter and cheers. Jake had whistled upon noticing them, and he was pretty sure Gia and Noah had just exchanged money, while Orion looked mostly bemused.

"Me, too," Emma admitted, giggling as she pulled away from him. The sudden lack of her warmth against his body felt palpable in the cool early evening air. "Come on, let's eat," she said, smiling warmly at him in a way that promised they could talk about it later.

Grinning, he grabbed his leather jacket and joined the rest of their team around the picnic blanket. He made sure to sit as far away from Gia as he could manage, though Jake wasn't much better about teasing him. Still, he thought as he traded a smile with Emma over their food, it had been a pretty good day, in the end.

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><p><strong>notes:<strong> if you read this far, please drop me a review to let me know what you think! i'd really appreciate it!


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